Buffalo Lake Effect - Traffic Jam on I-90

This is out in Buffalo, so not really worthy for skiing, but I though I should mention it.

Lake Effect has dropped 2-3 feet of snow around the city of Buffalo. My campus is in Amherst, about 8 miles North of all this business. Yesterday morning, we got about 3 inches of slop which has already melted down to about 1.5.

Last night a tractor trailer jack knifed, blocking an entire direction of I-90 (not sure if it's East or West bound). There was at least a few inches of snow on the ground when that happened, and immediately after snow was coming down at about 2-3 inches per hour. it built up to about 1.5 feet within a few hours. 10 miles of I-90 closed at 3:00 am. The lane is completely gridlocked, so no plows can get through and clean anything out. Hundreds of people were stuck on the thruway over night, and many are still there after 13 hours. Help has been going around giving out food and drinks, and even fuel for some people. I just heard my brother's room mate talking, he said some girl left campus at 10pm last night, and at 7:30 this morning, she was still in the same spot.

They cleaned up the accident, and slowly they've been digging out cars, one-by-one, and towing them to where it's cleared. For the people who are still stuck, they're picking them up in emergency vehicles and dropping them off at a nearby nursing home to get food, warmth, and in some cases, medicine.

Link:
http://www.examiner.com/city-buzz-in-new-york/buffalo-snow-on-nys-thruway-strands-motorists-1

Well, I'm glad Blue Toes and I drove home from Pennsylvania on Sunday, not yesterday! The 1.5 hours we spent in a traffic jam trying to get across the Peace Bridge doesn't seem so bad compared to being stranded on the highway in a snowstorm.

Pardon my Canuckian ignorance but was there some kind of sporting even tin Buffalo on Sunday night? I can't believe that was all holiday traffic.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

 Pardon my Canuckian ignorance but was there some kind of sporting even tin Buffalo on Sunday night? I can't believe that was all holiday traffic.

 

Your guess is as good as mine. As far as I know, it was just as many people commuting back from work rather than people passing through.

Sick Bird - it was Bills vs Steelers Sunday afternoon.  Loads of your fellow countrymen (and women) come down and make the games a weekend event.  

Always a slow go across the Peace Bridge on Sunday evenings after Buffalo Bills games...

I just drove down there to check it out.
in Amherst, there is about an inch on the ground in the shade, and nothing where it gets sufficient sunlight. No snowbanks from plows or anything.
Head about 2 miles South, it gradually builds up to maybe 6 inches. Snowbanks are about 2 feet
Go another 1/2 mile and there's about 2.5 feet. Snowbanks are about 3.5-4 feet, and in places where they piled it a bit, probably exceeding 10 feet.